LONDON PART 1 - GETTING ACCQUAINTED

London was our first stop in Europe. Besides being a gorgeous city, it's also easy to navigate and generally cheaper to fly into than other European cities.

We stayed in Shoreditch at the Crowne Plaza. The rooms were small but clean and we got to check in early. We arrived at our hotel around 10 a.m. after a sleepless night on the plane and we were told we could check in at noon, rather than the usual 3 p.m. time. What did we do with the next two hours?

Beans, bacon, sausage, and toast, with a side of heart disease   

We ate breakfast in true Brit style. To say that this place was quaint would be an understatement. The entire "restaurant" was about 15' by 15', with one cook/waitress/cashier behind the counter and a few mismatched chairs and picnic tables instead of regular seating. The food was amazing, though, and the woman behind the counter was sooo nice. Our credit card didn't work (England uses a machine where you insert your card, rather than slide it...it was weird), and we hadn't exchanged enough money to pay in cash. We offered to run to an ATM, but she told us just to leave what we had and pay the rest later. We did, and then we ate breakfast there every day and made sure to tip her nicely.

The rest of our first day in London was spent getting a feel for the city; the Tower of London, visiting the day Tate Modern (one of London's many amazing free museums), and strolling along the Thames, before we finally collapsed in exhaustion back at our hotel.

Tower of London

View of St. Pauls from the Thames

Tate Modern